The invention relates to a painting aid for a door handle of a vehicle, in particular for a door handle with an actuating projection for actuating a door lock, with a bearing projection for pivotally connecting the door handle on a vehicle door, and with a cover arranged next to the door handle at a fixed location with or without a locking cylinder.
Painting aids of this type are used in vehicle assembly while the door handles are painted so as to prevent paint to be applied at undesirable locations, for example on the actuating projection.
A door handle for a vehicle door, as illustrated for example in DE 103 48 719 A1, has a door handle body arranged on the outer side of the door and configured to be grasped by a person, as well as a bearing projection and an actuating projection which protrude from the door handle body and engage in the door. The bearing projection supports the door handle body pivotally on the door, and the actuating projection actuates a door lock disposed inside the vehicle door when the door handle body is pivoted. A separate cap is arranged at a fixed location, in addition to the pivotable door handle body. The cap can be formed as a blind cap or can include a locking cylinder for locking and unlocking the door lock. The door handle body and the cap are preferably painted separately from the vehicle (off-line painting). To enable a clean operation of the door lock, the actuator must be kept free from paint; this can be ensured by using painting aids in the form of sleeves or spouts arranged on the actuating projection.
One problem is that the cap and door handle body should be painted together to achieve good color fidelity. However, since separate components must be handled during off-line painting, logistical and handling problems result when the separate components are painted together in the same painting facility. There is also the risk that the correct association to each other is lost in the further manufacturing process.